The Instant Pot has ridden a wave of popularity that made it a common (but fantastic) gift this holiday season, but for Shiloah Avery of Port Orchard, Washington, there was a surprise within the surprise. When she opened her brand-new Instant Pot, she discovered a wedding ring waiting inside.
But this story doesn’t end with a tearful shout of “yes!” to someone waiting on bended knee. The wedding ring belonged to a stranger, and Avery made it her mission to return the ring to its rightful owner. Her first step involved calling the manufacturer of the Instant Pot, but that resulted in nothing more than a support ticket and a long wait. Undeterred, Avery turned to Facebook and posted her discovery on a local group.
By the end of Christmas Day, the ring’s proper owner, one JoAnn Johnson, also of Port Orchard, reached out to Avery. The two women met and the ring was returned to its rightful owner just a few days before Johnson left on a cruise to celebrate her 20th wedding anniversary.
The outstanding mystery in all of this was how the ring wound up in the box in the first place. As it turns out, Johnson and her husband had been browsing the Instant Pots at the local Walmart. When she opened a box to look at one of the smaller units, her ring fell off. Johnson didn’t discover the loss until it was too late, and even though she retraced her steps and searched under shelves throughout the store, the ring didn’t turn up.
Johnson had posted on Facebook asking people to keep an eye out for her ring, but she did not have much hope of it turning up. When Johnson saw Avery’s Facebook post, she almost dared not hope it was her ring that had been discovered.
Johnson called Avery a “Christmas angel” and says the entire event is the perfect example of a Christmas miracle. A sweet story like this is the perfect way to celebrate the start of the new year, and to remind us all that a spirit of giving benefits everyone.
